SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
impassable during the rains. Before I had gone very far—about two miles, perhaps—I came across various articles of baggage lying in the road, and soon found that one of the elephants had bolted and strewn the road with impedimenta. A little further on I overtook the other three elephants, and the mahouts entered into a lengthy explanation that one elephant would not go without its companions, and that in order to reload the delinquent they must all go back, and then return in one party, so I had to allow them to do as they liked, and hope they might somehow reach their destination. So much for the pleasure of elephant transport.
I pushed on ahead, and it was lucky I did so, as a severe thunderstorm came on, and the river rose to such an extent the coolies were unable to cross, and had to spend the night in the jungle on the banks, while my mule was very nearly carried off its feet by the torrent of reddish-yellow mud and water. The river rose with extraordinary rapidity, coming down in regular waves of red mud. I rode on in pouring rain to Dewangiri, and was lucky to find a good hut, which had been built in expectation of the Tongsa’s arrival earlier in the year, and as my orderly had kept up with me, carrying a bag, I was able to change into dry clothes in front of a good fire, and was none the worse for my adventure. Want of carriage kept me at Dewangiri for a day or two, and the first morning, on getting up, news was brought that one of the baggage mules was missing, and had been carried off by a tiger during the night. I went out and found that the carcase had been dragged at least 600 yards along a path through the dense jungle and then straight down the khud to the spot where I found it. Later in the day the remains of a sambur were brought in by a mahout, also killed by a tiger about half a mile from the camp, so tigers must be very plentiful just there, and sport ought to be good; but the jungle is very dense and game difficult to get at, and the hillsides are very steep, and in many places quite inaccessible. I had a machan put
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